Troopers, leaders and families joined the 1st Cavalry Division as they bid farewell to the First Team’s chief of staff, Col. Kevin S. Capra, on Cooper Field on May 26.
“Thank you for coming together and joining with us on this special farewell to an outstanding leader and a true cavalry man,” said Maj. Gen. John B. Richardson IV, 1st Cavalry Division commanding general.
The chief of staff position serves as the principal advisor to the commander and is an integral part of the division's team.
As summer approaches and the transition season is in full-swing, leadership changes are inevitable, and mainstays like Capra move on.
“Farewells are tough,” Richardson continued. “And even more difficult when you have to say goodbye to an essential member of the team who flat-out makes the organization better every day.”
After relinquishing command of the 3rd Armored Brigade Team “Greywolf,” Capra has been an essential part of the division and community for the last two years.
“He was the driving force in demonstrating to the Army that building lethal units can, and must, be done while taking care of Soldiers and Families,” Richardson said.
Capra had the opportunity to be stationed at Fort Hood more than once, and it’s a place the Capra Family calls home.
“It’s because of the community here,” Capra said. “It’s because of the Good Neighbors, the friends of the Cav. and the support network that is matched by no other installation,” Capra said. “This is absolutely a community that is proud to serve each other and our nation.”
During Capra’s tenure as division chief of staff, the First Team worked feverishly, mission after mission, in support of III Corps, Fort Hood, the Army and community.
“It has certainly been fast paced,” Capra said. “We have confronted numerous challenges, deployments, modernization, readiness, building lethality…,” Capra said. “Defining and building a culture of people first, and finally really enforcing who we are.”
Even through all the early days and long nights, this assignment will be one Capra cherishes for life.
“After all that, there is no place I would have wanted to be than right here,” Capra said. “Right here in the arena with the First Team.”
Although Capra’s time with the First Team is gone for now, the unit stands strong, ready and able to overcome anything.
“We are men and women of character and consequence,” Capra said. “We are troopers, Families and a community proud to serve one another and our nation. We are one impenetrable unit. Six brigades, one shield.”
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